1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of automated packaging and specifically to the delivery of packets to be automatically included with a product being packaged.
2. Description of Related Art
Automated bread packaging devices are widely used to wrap loaf bread in plastic. However, when packaging bread (or other consumer products or commodities), it can be desirable to include coupons, promotional material, or other printed material directed at the purchaser of the product. Prior-art systems for placing this material into, or on the outside of, the package have generally been deficient. For example, coupons and the like can be inserted manually, after the bread/product has been placed in the wrapper and prior to closure, but this is labor intensive and time consuming. Similar problems characterize systems that place the coupons into the bag before wrapping the bread/product.
In addition, existing systems for placing the coupons outside the bag suffer from problems relating to consistency, efficiency, and adhesion reliability. Thus, in some systems, where either no adhesive is used, or the inherent and/or application properties of the adhesive are not fully compatible with the adhesion surfaces, coupons and other similar material that are placed on, or attached to, the (bread) bag may fall (or come) off the bag and be lost during the production, delivery, distribution, or shelving/sales processes. Other existing methods, on the other hand, may affix the coupon to the bag permanently, so that removal of the coupon requires tearing of the (bread) bag. Similarly, other systems have proven inadequate as they utilize adhesives and operating conditions that cause partial or complete melting of the (bread) bag during application.
Thus, prior-art automated means for including a coupon with the product packaging have required relatively complicated and expensive machinery and suffer from reliability problems. Further, these prior-art systems often require significant modification or even replacement of otherwise useful automated packaging machines.
Accordingly, what has been needed is an automated system for including packets with packaged bread and other similar consumer goods/commodities. There is also a need for such an automated system that easily integrates with existing automated packaging machines. This invention satisfies these and other needs.